


Cat in a Hat

by ancalime8301



Series: Spencer Stories [26]
Category: Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Cats, Community: watsons_woes, Dreams, Fluff, Gen, Inspired by Art, Inspired by Photography, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-07-22
Packaged: 2018-02-10 00:44:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2004321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ancalime8301/pseuds/ancalime8301
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A silly photograph of cats inspires Watson, with strange dreams resulting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cat in a Hat

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [watsons_woes](http://watsons-woes.livejournal.com/) JWP day 22 [prompt](http://watsons-woes.livejournal.com/1154504.html): _A Seussian Situation. Incorporate Dr. Seuss or one of his works somehow into today's entry. A Cat in a Hat or a 500 Hats? A Grinch or a Sneech? It's up to you!_  
>  The image referred to (and slightly altered for the story) may or may not have been taken by the photographer mentioned; the only instance of the photo online is [a cached photo from a UK eBay auction](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22brighton+cats%22+pointer&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSYgkmRU7hG5JzHhpOCxCwjKcIGjwKOggCEhTeEuIS-iXnEt0S-RiCDZ8Z_1wyrEhog-87BnQvAFCNpVlZMsMlRv7PbQWslaoKK3hOJhHsJSjwMCxCOrv4IGgAMIeUR3vKbZSbh&sa=X&ei=W-fOU_mmBMW3yAS05YLwBA&ved=0CBsQwg4oAA&biw=1366&bih=696). The photographer was a real person, and credited as [the first to take silly photos of cats](http://www.photohistory-sussex.co.uk/BTNPointerCats.htm).

My interactions with Stamford were quite sporadic over the years; after he introduced me to Holmes I didn't see him for nearly eight years, though we corresponded a little more regularly than that. He was quite amused when I had told him I had acquired a cat, and afterward he sent me a letter while he was on holiday in Brighton. In the envelope he'd included a photograph of two cats wearing top hats and bow ties, and explained that a chap there was selling cartes of his cats in human-like situations. I laughed and showed it to Holmes, who seemed exasperated that someone would take the time to do such a thing, then put it away in my desk drawer and thought no more of it.

I am not certain how much time elapsed, but some time afterward I accompanied Holmes to pay a visit on a client, and on the way we passed a shop that proclaimed to sell clothes for children and pets. I immediately thought of the photograph, and spent some time mentally considering whether Spencer would tolerate being clothed.

I went to the store on a whim--without Holmes, of course--and purchased a small top hat in dark blue silk and a matching tie. The shopkeeper inquired after the animal I was purchasing it for, and she was very complimentary about my choice of color. I left feeling quite foolish and immediately hid away the package when I returned home.

I did not find it again until after Holmes was gone. I'd been drinking and only happened to find it while looking for something else. At that point I decided there would be no harm in trying it out, and I carefully fastened the hat and tie on a very patient Spencer. He tolerated it much better than I would have expected, and I thought the effect was quite dignified (and the color did, indeed, go very nicely with his orange fur). I called Mrs. Hudson up to see, for she had not yet gone to bed, and she laughed and fetched a treat for Spencer.

My dreams that night were filled with animals in clothing, including a black cat with a red and white striped hat and a red bow tie, and other fuzzy things that seemed to be animals but did not resemble any creature ever before seen on the earth. A short brown fuzzy thing with a bushy golden mustache scolded me about trees, and a strange green thing drove a sleigh pulled by a . . . dog?

It was all utterly fantastic and I woke with a start in the wee hours of the morning, breathing hard and thinking if this was the result of seeing a cat in clothes, I wanted no part in that nonsense.


End file.
